network upgrade - GIGALIGHT

4Jul, 2025

Why Choose 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 Optical Transceivers?

Recently, GIGALIGHT has introduced the 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 optical transceivers, specifically designed for short-distance interconnections. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, these transceivers empower customers to effortlessly construct future-ready, efficient network architectures.

Why Opt for 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2?

Faced with the widely adopted 100G QSFP28 SR4 and 200G QSFP56 SR4 optical transceivers in the market, customers may wonder: Why choose these new offerings from GIGALIGHT? The answer lies in their tailored design to meet the demands of future network upgrades.

While traditional optical transceivers are mature and cost-effective, they struggle to keep pace with the requirements of high-speed network architectures like 400G/800G amidst the AI-driven network upgrade wave.

Technological Innovation to Meet Future Challenges

With the advent of 100G PAM4 technology, most 400G/800G optical transceivers now employ this technology (4×100G PAM4 and 8×100G PAM4). In this context, continuing to use 4-channel 25G NRZ (100G QSFP28 SR4) or 4×50G PAM4 (200G QSFP56 SR4) technologies would lead to issues such as speed mismatch, port wastage, and soaring costs. GIGALIGHT’s 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 optical transceivers are precisely engineered to address these pain points.

Case Study: Seamless Integration and Effortless Upgrades

Consider the example of connecting an NVIDIA ConnectX-7 (dual-port 200Gb/s) network card with a 400G QSFP112 switch. Direct connection would result in link downtime, with the switch reporting an “Unsupported speed” error. However, introducing the 200G QSFP56 SR2 optical transceiver resolves the issue. By utilizing dual-channel PAM4 modulation technology, this transceiver intelligently splits the 400G QSFP112 port into two independent 200G channels, enabling perfect interconnection with the 200G QSFP56 network card without hardware modifications. Similarly, a 400G QSFP112 switch can automatically recognize a 4×100G link through four 100G QSFP28 SR1 optical transceivers.

When connecting to an 800G switch, direct interconnection can be achieved using 8×100G QSFP28 SR1 or 4×200G QSFP56 SR4 transceivers. Moreover, GIGALIGHT’s 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 transceivers can also directly interconnect with each other, offering great convenience.

100G QSFP28 SR1: Single-Channel Efficiency and Simplified Cabling

Single-Channel Breakthrough: Utilizing PAM4 modulation technology, it achieves high-speed transmission of 100Gbps per channel, significantly reducing the number of optical fibers and simplifying cabling complexity.
Multimode Fiber Support: Based on OM4 fiber, it offers a transmission distance of up to 100 meters, meeting short-distance high-bandwidth demands.
Low Power Consumption Design: With power consumption below 3.5W, it enhances energy efficiency and is suitable for high-density deployment environments.

200G QSFP56 SR2: Dual-Channel Interconnection, Empowering the Future

Flexible Compatibility: Supporting PAM4 modulation technology, it is compatible with various baud rates from 25G to 200G, automatically adapting to mixed 400G/200G environments for seamless interconnection in heterogeneous data centers.
High Performance and Low Power Consumption: Employing advanced DSP chips and VCSEL laser technology, it reduces power consumption by 30% while achieving a single-channel rate of up to 100Gbps, ensuring stability in high-density deployments.
Plug-and-Play: With a standardized QSFP56 package, it supports hot-swapping and DDM real-time monitoring, enabling deployment in minutes and improving operational efficiency by 50%. Cabling costs are reduced by 70% compared to SR4, requiring only dual-core OM4 fiber for 100m transmission.

Broad Application Scenarios to Meet Future Demands

Whether for hyperscale cloud service providers, AI/ML data centers, or financial institutions with extremely high requirements for ultra-low latency, GIGALIGHT’s 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 optical transceivers provide bandwidth elasticity for the next decade.

Conclusion: Unleash Potential Without Obsolescence

By choosing GIGALIGHT’s 100G QSFP28 SR1 and 200G QSFP56 SR2 optical transceivers, you can immediately unlock the full potential of 400G/800G switches without discarding existing 100G/200G equipment, leading you into a new era of future network architectures.

30Jul, 2019

The Evolution Path of Next Generation Data Center’s Optical Interconnection

As a global innovator of optical interconnect design, Gigalight is committed to providing customers with design- and cost-leading high-speed optical interconnect product solutions. Deeply immersed in the field of optical interconnects for more than a decade, Gigalight believes that the upgrade path for next-generation data center optical interconnects should be from 100G to 200G, and then to 400G. Only such smooth upgrades and technological transitions are met the law of market development.

From 100G to 400G, the data center’s network architecture should be firstly upgraded to the most cost-effective 200G SR8/PSM8 architecture (8x 25G NRZ), then to the first generation 400G network architecture—400G PSM8/FR8 (8x 50G PAM4); and at last to the second generation 400G network architecture—400G DR4/FR4 (4x 100G PAM4). Among them, the 200G (8x 25G NRZ) network adopts the mature 25G NRZ electric chip and optical device, which has the same port density as the 100G network, but the bandwidth is doubled, which effectively reduces the transmission cost. In addition, the industrial chain of 25G NRZ optoelectronic chips and optical devices is relatively mature, and the related switches and optical module products are also easier to develop (compared to 50G PAM4), which can help the data center to quickly realize the commercial deployment of 200G networks.

At present, some companies believe that the data center network architecture should be directly upgraded to the second generation 400G, namely the 400G DR4/FR4, so they are rushing to introduce Single Lambda 100G (100G PAM4) or 400G (4x 100G PAM4) optical modules. However, these optical modules require expensive optical components, including Silicon Photonics modulators, EML lasers, and DSP error correction chips. Gigalight believes that it is too early to deploy the 400G DR4/FR4 network architecture in the data center, because the 400G DR4/FR4 products based on Single Lambda 100G PAM4 DSP technology is likely to be out of the Shannon limit, but the 400G PSM8/FR8 products based on 50G PAM4 technology are more likely to meet R&D expectations. The first generation of 400G network (8x 50G PAM4) is easier to commercialize because it adopts 8 channels of 25G linearity optoelectronic chips and related optical devices consistent with the 200G network, except that PAM4 modulation technology is used to achieve doubled bandwidth, and it is just after the 200G NRZ network in the data center network upgrade path.

The network upgrade of the data center should follow the market rules, and there is no such thing as a shortcut to the sky. Gigalight follows the rules of the market, and the 200G (8x 25G NRZ) products that are preferred for data center customers have been validated by North American data center customers. With full R&D design and verification, Gigalight now offers a complete and reliable 200G optical interconnect solution (including the 200G 4x 50G PAM4 series) with the following key benefits in smooth transition to 400G:

Low Power Consumption. With existing 25G NRZ optics, power consumption is as low as 4 watts, while optical modules based on DSP CDR technology can be 2 to 3 watts higher. In this case, saving 2 to 3 watts per 200G optical module is very beneficial for optimizing OPEX and cooling efficiency.
Low Latency. Excellent performance in some special application scenarios such as High Performance Computing (HPC) and High Frequency Trading (HFT).

The 8x 25G NRZ reduces the complexity and design difficulty of the 200G optical module and avoids the development cost and material cost of the difficult DSP. At a broader market level, 100G optical modules have matured and component integration has been established. Similarly, 200G optical modules will also form a cost structure similar to 100G optical modules in the first few years before entering the market, following the downward cost curve. Due to further standardization and automation of component integration and mass production, 200G optical modules are expected to achieve a cost structure comparable to today’s 100G optical modules. Gigalight’s breakthrough in optical packaging technology enables density increases, enabling 200G networks to be quickly and economically deployed commercially!